Welcome back to another fantastic year of college football! It’s a pleasure having you back to our little slice of Degen Paradise here at S.U.S. I have a 3-pack of FREE plays that I will be giving out below on Week 0, so without further ado, let’s dig into some football.
Jacksonville St. ML (-105)
Former West Virginia HC legend Rich Rodriguez leads his Gamecocks into their inaugural C-USA (and FBS) season by taking on the UTEP Miners. Rich Rod received some great news in June, finding out that the NCAA granted a 7th year of eligibility to QB Zion Webb and is stated to be the co-starter alongside Nebraska transfer Logan Smothers. Returning 4 starters on the O-Line, I expect Webb to be the Pat White of this offense, using his feet to make plays and get his offensive weapons like ULM transfer RB Malik Jackson and WR PJ Wells.
UTEP QB Gavin Hardison leads the Miners with a new OC in an expected up-tempo offense. The Miners return 4 O-Lineman making it one of the most experienced units in the C-USA. With 7 starters returning on defense but only 2 on the D-Line, Webb and Smothers should be able to make a formidable 1-2 punch to slice and dice this corps on their way to plenty of points.
I love UTEP HC Dana Dimel, but I believe the motivation will be in favor of the debuting Gamecocks at home. Give me the Gamecocks to get the victory and start their debut off on the right foot.
New Mexico State (-6)
Jerry Kill did the absolute unthinkable last season by leading the Aggies to a bowl WIN in his first season as HC in Las Cruces. I absolutely love the grit and swagger that he brings to the table and his players really responded last season. Bringing back QB Diego Pavia and their Top 3 RBs in terms of production, I expect this offense to absolutely blow through the Minutemen defense. UMass has a potential new QB in the wings in Clemson/Georgia Tech transfer Taisun Phommachanh, who has been turning heads in camp this season.
While the line has currently moved from -8 to -6, I still believe the Aggies are a far superior team all around. Jerry Kill is a coach I will always put my money on and can get the troops ready for battle. The Aggies win by more than a TD at home and start the season 1-0.
Hawaii/Vanderbilt O55
2nd year HC Timmy Chang leads the Rainbow Warriors into Nashville after taking one on the chin last season 63-10. Brayden Schager will have another year to master the run-and-shoot offense after going through some growing pains in ’22. The Bows return 67 career starts on the O-Line and 3 of their Top 5 WRs are gone. One would expect this unit to struggle, but another year under the same regime in an offense that spreads it around will be huge to this squad.
Former Vanderbilt walk-on FB Clark Lea returns as HC after rising above expectations last season to a 5-7 record, with upsets over Kentucky and Florida at the end of the season. Lea returns Sophomore QB AJ Swann and their Top 3 in WR production. The O-Line returns 4 starters and 81 career starts so Swann should have plenty of protection and opportunities for a new RB to emerge in Ray Davis’s spot.
Hawaii’s defense returns 9 starters, but that may not be a good thing considering they were 130th in total yards given up last season. With another year under the tutelage of Timmy Chang and an SEC caliber offense going at it, I expect this game to fly over the 55-point total and well into the 60’s. Give me PLENTY OF POINTS in Nashville!
